Gov. Robert Bentley announced third-round funding amounts for all 67 Alabama counties this morning. Each county must now submit a list of road projects that it wants built with the money available.

"ATRIP is making a difference in every county across the state by allowing much-needed road and bridge improvement projects to move forward," Bentley said in a news release. "As we make these improvements, we're improving public safety, and we're also helping attract more jobs.

"When companies look for places to build and expand and hire more people, they look for places that have good roads and bridges," the governor added. "Our roads and bridges will be much safer thanks to this program, and our communities will be in a better position to recruit more jobs."

That may be especially true in Madison County, which was allocated $50 million in the third round of ATRIP and $82.7 million overall since the program began last year - the most of any Alabama county.

Bentley said 693 road and bridge improvement projects across the state were OK'd during the first two rounds of ATRIP. The program is primarily funded by GARVEE bonds, which allow Alabama to access future federal dollars to pay for road and bridge upgrades that are needed today.

The borrowing cost on those bonds "is generally lower than the rising cost of inflation on construction projects," said Bentley.

State Rep. Mac McCutcheon, R-Monrovia, who served on the ATRIP Committee, called it "the most aggressive transportation improvement plan in Alabama's history.

"Under the leadership of Gov. Bentley and ALDOT, the committee has taken steps to address needs in every county in Alabama," said McCutcheon. "ATRIP is improving infrastructure for economic growth, providing jobs and promoting safety."

Updated at 11:38 a.m. to correct that the RAMP program provided $1 million each to 21 rural counties. Most of those counties received an additional $5.6 million from ATRIP.